TRAGEDY: 25 burnt to death in Lokoja auto accident

No fewer than 25 persons lost their lives in a fatal accident that occurred in Lokoja ,Kogi State, capital, on Friday, when a tanker conveying fuel and an 18-seater bus coming from the North had a head-on coalition. Our correspondent observed that the incident resulted in fire, which burnt both vehicles to ashes.

Ibrahim said, “The tanker and the 18-seater bus were trying to overtake each other. But unfortunately, the tanker lost balance and it fell on the bus. We have been complaining to the government to fix this road. Now you can see how many lives that have been lost. No fewer than 25 burnt bodies can be seen here.”

Another eyewitness, Haruna Sadiq, who sympathised with families of the victims, said people in the area called the fire service for more 20 minutes but that they claimed there was no fuel in their vehicle.

“I am really disappointed with our firemen. We have been calling them that people were dying here, but all we could hear was that they didn’t have fuel. What a shame,” he said.

He, however, appealed to the government to do the needful, stating that a similar accident happened on the same spot where lives were also lost.

The sector commander of the Federal Road Safety Corps, Kogi State Command, Mr. Segun Martin, who confirmed the accident, however put the causality figure at 10 as of the time of filling this report because the fire was still raging. He added that a tanker, truck and a tricycle were involved in the accident.